# May I ask to check if my solutions to tasks from former tests are correct?

I will soon have a test...I feel very uneasy about the test, so as an exercise I'm doing tasks from former tests... And I feel pretty unsure about my solutions to these tasks as well...

Frankly - may I post these tasks with my attempts to solve them and ask you to check if I'm doing it right, or will this be frowned upon?

• If you are pretty sure you know what the problem is in your proof, and you want to know why the proof doesn't work, and/or how to fix it, then ask about that. If you are unaware of any problem with your proof, then post the question as a question and the solution as a solution. Above all, please search for existing questions which ask (and hopefully have solutions for) the same question. If you find someone asking your question, then post your solution as a solution. If there's any problem, you'll hear. The goal is to avoid questions which necessarily must be answered with "yeah that's fine." – rschwieb Nov 27 '17 at 14:46
• I disagree with @rschwieb. It both of the first two cases, post your question and the solution you came to that you are unsure of, and include along with topic tag(s), the tag "proof verification." Both such posts (each case) belong in one question field. – amWhy Nov 27 '17 at 17:20
• To the point, @gaazkam, we welcome questions which include an asker's own efforts, and given the scenario you speak of, I can't see why doing so would be frowned upon. Go for it! Thanks for asking. – amWhy Nov 27 '17 at 17:22
• – gaazkam Nov 27 '17 at 17:26
• @amWhy There were many discussions in the past in which the consensus seemed to tend toward what I suggested in the comment. I'm only suggesting that we do not encourage a pattern of becoming a free pre-grading service, but still remain open to real questions about solutions. Would you elaborate on the benefits you see in indiscriminately welcoming proofreading type questions? – rschwieb Nov 27 '17 at 17:35
• No, I think you're mistaken about any consensus reached, @rschwieb. I welcome questions, which show effort, where the effort might be showing work that's on the right track, or work until the user gets stuck, and perhaps an attempt at a solution, which belongs in the question, not in an answer. (When there is uncertainty, it belongs in the question), using proof-verification ($\neq$ proof-reading). – amWhy Nov 27 '17 at 17:43
• @amWhy ... so you don't have any benefits to list, just an assertion that I am wrong? When I get time in the next few days, I will try to locate the posts. It's a discussion worth having (but only if we're talking about costs and benefits, and not fiat.) – rschwieb Nov 27 '17 at 17:49
• Nor do you, dear @rschwieb, have any evidence to list to justify that you are correct. Claims about "consensus" on an issue is usually biased, because this is one question, about whether to post an answer that an asker would like feedback on, as an answer to the question. – amWhy Nov 27 '17 at 17:51
• @gaazkam: these questions can be particularly problematic for two reasons. One is that, if there are no real issues, there is nothing to say except "it's correct", which makes for a bad answer. The second is that, instead of focusing on the mathematics, these questions focus on the particular proof that someone wrote. Discussions and answers are more productive when everyone can focus directly on the mathematics. So in general, these kinds of questions should be kept to a minimum, and only posted when there is a specific issue with your solution that you are worried about. – Carl Mummert Nov 29 '17 at 11:39